The Stanford Prison Experiment

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Transcript of The Stanford Prison Experiment

The Results What does this show us about humanity? The Stanford Prison Experiment The Stanford Prison Experiment was a psychological study conducted at Stanford University from August 14 to August 20 of 1971. Funded by the U.S Office of Naval Research, it was to be a study of the psychological effects of becoming either a prisoner or a prison guard. The Mastermind At the head of the operation was psychologyprofessor Philip George Zimbardo. Along with a team of researchers, Zimbardo oversaw the entire experiment acting as the prison's 'warden'of sorts. From behind closed doors, he monitored the prisoners through cameras and reviewed each piece of footage carefully. What he found was far more shocking than what anyone was expecting. Being A Guard Being A Prisoner After being 'arrested' and taken to the prison testing facility the prisoners were stripped, searched, shaved and deloused. They were then issued identical uniforms and unique ID numbers and escorted to their cells by the prison guards. The same cells where they were to spend the next two weeks. All prisoners were expected to follow a set of rules constructed by Zimbardo and the guards. Such rules included remaining silent during rest periods, eating duringmeal times, keeping prison cells clean etc. All prisoners were to be told that they could opt outand discontinue the experiment and at any time and leave 'through established procedures.' So What Happened? To put it simply – things got out of hand and even that would be an understatement•The guards adapted to their roles far better than expected•Even Zimbardo himself adapted a ‘prison warden’ mindset •After only 36 hours one prisoner went ‘crazy’ and had to be escorted out•Guards took away basic human needs•one third of the guards were said to have exhibited ‘genuine sadistic tendencies’ towards prisoners •The experiment was brought to an end six days after it began eight days before it was supposed to end What was the Stanford Prison Experiment? The Experiment The rules of the experiment were as followed: Out of 75 or so volunteers, 24 clinically sane individuals were to be tested and then randomly assigned roles of either prisoner or guard in a mock prison environment located in the basement of the psychology building at Stanford. The volunteers were aware that they were part of a study but they were not to be made aware of when the study was to actually begin. They were then to be randomly arrested in their own houses and taken to the mock prison. They were even charged with crimes, with the first five prisoners being charged with burglary and the last four being charged with armed robbery. One of the prisoners recounting his experience while being arrested After arresting and escorting the prisoners to the facility, guards were to begin their assigned duties. Where the prisoners remained in the prison 24 hours a day, the guards operated on three rotating eight hour shifts. This ensured that there were always at least three guards present to guard the nine prisoners at all times. They were given no special formal training, save for a brief orientation telling them to maintain law and order, avoid physical violence and prevent prisoner escapes. They were provided with clothing similar to those of an actual prison guard, mirrored sunglasses (which they were to use to avoid eye contact with prisoners), and wooden batons with which to establish their status. Just like the prisoners the guards could choose to end the experiment at any time they wished. So what did The Stanford Prison Experiment show us? It showed the powerful role that situations can play on human behavior. The participants in the experiment were thrust into situations that they would otherwise most like not find themselves in and they reacted to those situations accordingly and then drastically. Because the guards were put into a position of power they began to react in ways that they normally wouldn't behave. The same goes for the prisoners, who found themselves in a depressed state when put in a situtation where they had no control. Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Zimbardo http://www.prisonexp.org/faq.html http://psychology.about.com/od/classicpsychologystudies/a/stanford-prison-experiment.htm